I make - Beef tagliata and Hasselback potatoes

Wow, I did not expect this. A meal with such joy to eat. Perhaps because it's the cold weather outside contrasting the warmth inside. Maybe it's the ease of preparation, the sensory therapy by working with the ingredients, or just because I was cooking on my favorite cooking day of a week. I am not sure but the result is mind blowing. Simplicity and fresh ingredients are just hard to beat.

Beef tagliata with Hasselback potatoes

The method is mostly what Nigella Lawson demonstrated in her recent cookery program, Nigellissima. The accompanying Hasselback potatoes are from here.

For beef tagliata:

- 1 sirloin steak
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4-1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
- sprinkle of dried chilli flakes
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- sea salt to taste
- 100g of rocket (or mixed leaf salad)
- cherry tomatoes, halved
- Parmasen shaves

In a dinner plate or a shallow container, mix together olive oil, vinegar, chilli flakes, thyme and salt. This is the mixture which you will need to rest in the grilled steak.

Preheat a griddle pan to very hot. Sear the unseasoned steak at all sides, about 20 seconds per side. Keep flipping the steak so that you get nice color outside but tender inside. I like my steak rare to medium rare. So I grill my steak no more than 90 seconds in total. If you prefer steak more cooked, feel free to leave it longer.

Remove the steak from the pan and rest in the olive oil marinade. After one minute on one side, flip over to marinade the other side. If you have a lid with slits, you could use it to cover steak to keep it warm. I find a microwave plate cover very handy for this task. Otherwise, a large piece of crinkled tin foil could do the job.

Remove the rested steak from the marinade to a slicing board. Arrange cherry tomato halves in the marinade (time for them to get happy). Thinly slice the steak with a knife angled in. In a big bowl, toss cherry tomatoes, marinade along with rocket leaves together and plate out in a nice dinnerware. Stew the steak slices around the salad. Scatter parmasen shaves on top.

Hasselback potatoes

- 4 medium size potatoes, well scrubbed
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp of melted butter
- dried thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- grated parmasen cheese

Slice each potato from top to bottom but not through. You want to create a fan look. Arrange all potatoes in a microwavable plate. Cover with a lid which allows steam coming through. Microwave at high for 5 minutes. Turn each potato over. Microwave for another five minutes.

At this stage, you can leave the dish as it is and move on to something else. When dinner is about to serve, mix the melted butter, minced garlic and thyme together and brush it all over potatoes. Try to get some butter into the potato cuts. Season with salt and pepper. Microwave the whole dish for another 7 minutes.

Remove the dish from the microwave and scatter the parmasen on top. Bake the potatoes in the oven at 200C for 20 minutes.

Trust me, any potato lover will adore you for this.